How to (sort of) - Adding Dual USB, chargeable flashlight base switch and moving OEM switches.

I spent part of the day figuring out how to take my dash and panels off of my 15' Tacoma DCSB Sport. It's freaking ridiculous how difficult they made it just to get to the radio and those switches. Since it took me awhile to figure out how to pull everything apart I did not snap many pictures of the process and in turn decided not to mess with snapping pics of everything going back together. I'll do my best to explain the steps that are needed though, Enjoy!

I swapped out one of the 12v outlets for a Blue Sea dual USB flush mount outlet. It is designed strictly for charging and accepts 12/24v power. While I had everything pulled apart I went ahead and mounted up my Stream light and hard wired the charger to a switch so I can control when it is on or off.





You will need to remove, in close to this order - your left kick plate and kick panel, panel underneath your steering wheel, dash gauges bezel, shifter cover, cubby/center console compartment, climate controls, radio and bezel, glove compartment, lower panel below climate control (that houses the 12v and USB/Aux port). Once you have all of that removed you should be looking something like this.



Grab your panel with the 12v outlet, USB/Aux and whatever ports or switches you may already have. To remove the 12v you will see two small black tabs on the inside top and bottom, You will need to press one of them to get it started and then press the other one to finish separating the center tube from the outer housing. Once you have the center tube removed you will find two tabs on the back housing that need to be pressed to get it out of the panel.







The hole required for the Blue Seas part is 1 1/8", I simply used a 6" half round file and worked the hole as even as possible. You will basically need to take away enough material to remove the notch (all the way around). I test fit the part every few rounds I made with the file until it fit snugly all the way through the hole.









I opted to leave the rubber cover off but it does work if you leave it on, I know I will always have something plugged in so no need for me to have it dangling down all the time.





You may have noticed my USB/Aux is now moved to the far right position as opposed to the OEM location. Toyota "keys" the holes and switches to only allow them to fit in one specific hole. If you want to move any of your OEM stuff around simply take a razor and slice off the groves or alter them so that they will fit in the other blanks.







Alright now that you have that all done and set aside let's move back into the truck. You will need a small pick or flat head screwdriver to pry the two covers up on the plug for the old 12v outlet. Once you have those pryed up you will see two clips that need to be pressed as you pull the wires out. Once you have this done test continuity and figure out which wire is ground (mine was the black w/ gold strip) then heat shrink them accordingly. You need not fear them working loose, the spades lock into place in the small holes on the blades of the Blue Sea outlet.













That pretty well sums everything up, if you're interested in adding a switch for a flash light charger base then continue reading below. Otherwise, once you have tested to verify power, you may start putting your truck back together.



I opted to go with a Stream Light SL-20L for my permanent on-board flashlight. It comes with a 12v charging adapter but I did not want the bulk and hassle of that taking up my now single 12v outlet. I opened up the adapter and de-soldered the wires so that I could run it to a SPST non-illuminated rocker switch, wired to an add-a-fuse off my stock power outlet fuse.







I didn't want the switch to be in an obvious, open area as to keep a neat look when I do start adding switches to the OEM blanks down the road. After a bit of eyeballing things I went for under the dash where the middle "change" holder is at. I started out drilling a 1/2" hole (that's my biggest drill bit on hand) and used my dremel sanding drum to finish opening up the hole.



I ran the charge wire down the length of the kick plate, zip-tied up the wiring behind the kick panel following a harness under the steering wheel to where the switch will be.



I grounded directly to the bolt behind the switch, crimped on some spade connectors, checked voltage on the fuse panel and installed the add-a-fuse, crimped onto that and ran it to the switch. Tested everything out and began reassembly of my truck!









Note: The space above where the switch connectors go is tight, if you drill your hole to far to the right you may not get your panel to snap back in correctly. Pay attention to this or you will end up having to make an oblong hole.

 

Nice write up!

Why not use of these? Less hassle.

 

Thanks!

True it is less hassle though to make a long story short, I ordered the Blue Sea outlet in hopes to use it for a similar yet different project. It would not fit where I originally wanted to put it and I like having dedicated USB ports. When I pulled door and pillar side apart for the USB/flashlight wiring I noticed this truck has had some water damage, from there I wanted check further into the truck to see how far water got in and I still wanted to use the Blue Sea outlet. I decided to replace one of the 12v's with it and proceeded to take the rest apart. I also am slightly OCD and hated where the USB/Aux was positioned, while I was inside I did quite a bit of cleaning, the previous owner was a smoker and ash was everywhere behind the panels. I figured why not make a small write up on doing this stuff while I was at it so viola...here we are!

In regards to the water damage, I believe its possible the window was just left open during a bad storm or something. At first I was thinking the PO maybe had driven this truck through water and it leaked past the door seals or something. There was a ton of grit and sand under the carpet and kick panels all the way to the center console, truck only has 23k on it so I found that amount of dirt under the carpet very odd.

 

I like this!! I was just thinking yesterday of running a flashlight charger in the near future.

 

Thanks bud! I hope it comes to help you when that time comes.

 

Nice write up and great series of pics, just what I've been looking for only I'm thinking of relocating the outlets and replacing them with 1" OD OBA guages and switch. Since I have a 5-MT with handbrake I'm thinking of putting one in the removable handbrake cover and the other just outboard of the present location for passenger access clear of the shifter. I need to get 1/4" air lines in there and also find room for the regulator for the ride rites though it might go under the cup holder instead.

 

Brake handle mount is immediately behind the panel so it can't go there. I'll need another location convenient to that area of the console. I'll locate the ideal phone mount location first though in case another socket location is better.

 

@bagleboy nice, let's see some pics of you get some!

 

Nice work! I saw someone put one in the bedside once, that was pretty cool.

 

I have another guage and QR for there too! My Amazon order was broken up into 4 shipments and the tank is the last to arrive in ~10 days. Since I plan to have a charge port for the tank I won't need the compressor right away so that will wait until after I build/install a bussman though if one goes on sale I'll definitely nab it for sure.

 

Sorry for the off topic post... Does your truck have factory heated seats? My truck has leather in it but not heated seats. I was looking into adding heated seats but wanted factory looking switches...

 

There's a thread around here with a link to an Amazon listing with nice switches. It's in my watched threads so I'll go dig it up.

Edit- lhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/2-seats-heated-seat-seat-heater-fit-Toyota-Prado-Corolla-RAV4-REIZ-/170710469601?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27bf230be1&rmvSB=true&ul_ref=http%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F1%2F711-53200-19255-0%2F1%3Fff3%3D4%26pub%3D5574640951%26campid%3D5335841727%26customid%3Dtwo2227639%26mpre%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.com%252Fitm%252F2-seats-heated-seat-seat-heater-fit-Toyota-Prado-Corolla-RAV4-REIZ-%252F170710469601%253Fpt%253DMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories%2526hash%253Ditem27bf230be1%26srcrot%3D711-53200-19255-0%26rvr_id%3D1332878663258&ul_noapp=true was in Calico's build thread.
After purchasing this kit I cannot reccomend it, the wires change gage inline in several places and nowhere is the ground wire sufficiently large. It looks nice but IMHO isn't electrically sound.

 

That's the one I bought. I looked at several ebay sellers that sell what is probably the same set. This seller had the best feedback. I put the switches in and they fit perfect. I haven't pulled my seats apart yet. Hey, it's not freezing here yet. I've got a little more time.

 

You guys are awesome!! Thank you!

 

I hope so, I've been eyeing several locations between those two power sockets, the cubby below, the cup holder drop in, and inside the center console in a Salex pocket, but there are a slew of constraints I need to consider for each location mostly because of the air lines and connectors. I'll definitely take pics when I put it together. I've already pulled the front and back pieces of the center console and AC panel to peak inside and removed the clips to speed the install. As new parts arrive I'm sorting through the possiblities which leads to more parts(what fun!). It's definitely going to get documented.

 

I ended up making two panels, one for the cubby and one to replace the switches/sockets. The seat heater switches go in the upper panel and my oba controls in the cubby panel.


Still haven't even ordered the rest of the oba switches, this is an old pic with the heater switches as placeholders.

 

I love the blue sea smart USB adapters. I installed one exactly as you did in an older land cruiser we have. Disassembled the factory plug and everything just like you did. Works great!

Can I ask about why the switched power source for the light? Toyota’s from the factory don’t usually have any constant on switched accessory locations. And isn’t the Streamlight charger a “smart” version that will not abuse the battery?

I ask because I have an old work light too, the same as you but with a great LED conversion in it. I have an extra 12V car adapter I could salvage and run to an ignition “hot” source and just wire it and forget it.

Has the light ever come lose and shot forward?

Your giving me ideas man! I love it!

 

I'm just guessing but I'd want to be able to shut off all parasitic drains. It's not about the flashlight battery. I've done a few led mods myself. Fun stuff.

 

I hear ya, but thing is almost all EMS, LEO, Military type lights from Streamlight are designed to be wired into a hot source. When the battery is charged they stop pulling current and “turn off.”

I’m just curious why switched power?

I mean I haven’t installed my Surefire Lawman Charger b/c I have more need of being able to take it from my personal vehicle to my patrol vehicle.

 

Personally I'm running both ignition switched and always hot power but I can imagine having a switch come in handy. House outlets and lighting are on separate circuits but you can screw an adapter into an exterior light socket and switch on Christmas lights easier than with a wall outlet that's not switched. So you could have auxiliary lighting plugged into a 12v socket and use the switch for on/off.